


You're My Girl

by cosim18



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Major Character Injury, Paralysis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2019-02-16 08:17:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13050114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosim18/pseuds/cosim18
Summary: After an easy mission, it's something accidental and human that forever changes a member of the Team. But change isn't always bad, even if it takes some time to adjust to, and it always has the potential to lead to something just as amazing.





	You're My Girl

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first foray into the Young Justice fandom, so I truly hope this is at least a decent fic!

“For an Alpha mission, that was pretty easy,” Beast Boy says as he shifts back into his human form.

“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch,” Miss Martian says wryly. She’s reluctant to admit it, but Beast Boy was right. Rounding up the last of the Light agents took but a few hours, and nobody was seriously injured.

“As right as Miss Martian usually is, it looks like Garfield is in the right this time. The base has been disabled and we’ve captured a whopping four agents,” Robin says, absentmindedly checking his watch.

“Not so fast,” Beast Boy calls out just as he barrels into the knees of an agent of the Light. They had been on a stealth mission, simple observe and track, but one of them had spotted the green cheetah and alerted the others. Most of them had gotten away, but the Alpha team was pursuing the remainder as the others regrouped at headquarters.

As Blue Beetle flew up to the scene, he shook his head at the display, unimpressed by the supposed best of the baddies. He watched his teammates collect themselves, catching their breath and laughing to themselves, happy with their accomplishments. Three of the agents lay on the ground, grumbling but defeated. Wonder Girl flies in, depositing the last one on the pile.

“Is that all of them?” Robin asks. There’s surprise in his voice, like he was expecting things to be more difficult.

“As far as we know,” Wonder Girl says. She claps her hands together, wiping off the dirt and grime before landing on the ground. “It’s hot enough outside, and then you make us work up a sweat, I think it’s fair enough that it was an otherwise easy day.”

“Hey, I’m not complaining, I’m just cautious,” Robin says. He chuckles as he collapses his stick into a more portable version and steps away from the others to update Nightwing back in the Cave.

“What do you say to some swimming to cool off?” Miss Martian asks, a mischievous glint in her eye.

She’s already changed into her bathing suit and Beast Boy soon follows, pulling off his clothes to swim in his boxers, barrelling into the lake in a massive cannonball . Without Robin’s supervision, there's nobody to stop them, and they’re all eager for a break and a reason to just relax. It’s not often that they get such ample free time, and none of them particularly want to pass it up.

“Cassie, you gonna join us?” Jaime is already in the water, his head bobbing as his body keeps up with the gentle current. “Wouldn’t be fun without you!”

“What about Robin? And the bad guys?” She responds, crossing her arms and letting a smirk stretch across her face.

“Ah, he can handle them. He’s Boy Wonder, remember?”

“Yeah, Cassie, c’mon!” Miss Martian joins in on the encouragement, waving Cassie over to the water.

She hesitates for a while longer, not wanting to let down their team leader, but eventually she shakes her head and turns around. The boys think she's leaving them alone until they see her shimmying out of her outfit. Jaime doesn’t even realize he’s staring until he feels a splash of water on his face, and he turns to see Beast Boy in the form of a fish flopping on the water’s surface.

“Hey, cut it out,” Jaime exclaims. He splashes water in Garfield’s direction and dips under the water to swim a little bit away. By the time he resurfaces, he’s lost sight of Cassie.

“You sure you wanna take those off?” Robin asks. Cassie is in her sports bra and black boyshorts, standard issue undergarments. Robin doesn’t have to ask to know what they’re doing, especially with the commotion of the others in the water.

“I’m sorry, we just wanted to cool off. It is gross and sticky out,” Cassie says, shrugging. Her hand is frozen on top of her left bracelet, paused in the motion of taking it off.

“Hey, no, I get it. I’ll get these guys back to headquarters, you should enjoy yourselves,” Robin says. He reaches a hand out and squeezes Cassie’s shoulder, giving her reassurance. “Just keep an eye on them, yeah?”

“‘Course,” Cassie says, smiling. Robin leaves her and she turns her focus back down to her wrists. She almost never takes the bracelets off, even to sleep. It’s not just that they give her extra power, they function as a safety net. But Robin is right - she needs to enjoy herself. She can’t live her entire life paralyzed by the fear of what might happen.

After sliding the cool metal off of her skin, Cassie places the gauntlets on top of her folded clothes, letting her fingers linger for a moment. There’s something nagging at her mind, like some sort of danger, but she shrugs to herself, passing it off as simple post-battle jitters. She walks to the edge of the cliff and waves down at her friends, ready to join in on the fun.

“Look who it is!” Beast Boy calls out to Jaime. As Jaime turns to look at Cassie, who is backing up to take a dive into the water, Beast Boy surprises him, pushing down on his shoulders and submerging him. Jaime turns to look at his friend, distracted, while Miss Martian swims in front of him, an all-encircling attack to get him as wet as possible. Nobody is paying attention to Wonder Girl as she stands above them, expecting her to join them any moment.

Cassie laughs to herself as she runs full speed off the edge, angling her body in a perfect dive. She hopes Jaime is watching, secretly wanting to impress him, but she doesn’t let herself look down at him, worried he’ll mess up her form in her bundle of nerves. Instead, she takes a deep breath and lets go, not flying, but almost floating through the air. She feels light and happy, full of the joy of being around her friends and of completing another mission.

Suddenly something is wrong.

Pain blossoms in her head, travelling slowly down the rest of her body. At first, she thinks little of it, thinking it could just be a headache from the day’s activities. But within a few seconds, she sees blood blossoming out into the water around her, strangely beautiful. She wants to move to see what’s happened, but she can’t seem to gain control of her own body. Her eyes dart around rapidly, head foggy from the impact, limbs unresponsive. Fear takes over her entire frame, and she tries to convince herself that it’s the panic that is paralyzing her, causing her to be unable to move. She can’t even twitch her fingers or toes.

Her chest begins to ache with the pain of holding in her breath, barely remembering how important that action is. Her mind is screaming at her to hold on, to not give in to the pressure surrounding her head, burning her senses begging her to let go. _Stay calm_ , Robin’s voice says in her head. It’s not the telepathic connection or a radio, though. It’s her own subconscious, taking on the form of her team leader. She realizes there’s no other time when she’s wanted telepathic abilities so much. Miss Martin is just a swim away, but they weren’t using their telepathic link for this mission, so there’s no way to reach out. Not that Cassie is going to stop, she’s still screaming inside her head.

Black spots swarm into her line of vision. She can feel tears coming out of her eyes, stinging along with the saltwater that is enveloping her. She’s not even sure how far she is from the top. It feels like she’s sinking, but it’s just a dark, endless abyss below her, messing with her depth perception.

Finally, she can’t hold on any longer. Instinct kicks in and she pulls in a breath, full of bitter water, crying out, screaming into the limitless water, for someone to hear her.

* * *

 

“Did Cassie ever come back up?” Jaime asks. He saw her go in the water just as Garfield pushed him, and he didn’t think anything of it. But it’s been a few minutes and nothing has happened. Cassie hasn’t made a sound indicating where she went, and she isn’t in sight. He turns back to Garfield, whose brows are furrowed in confusion and shrugs.

“Maybe she went back with Robin?” He asks. They both know it’s unlikely, but it’s the only safe explanation for Cassie’s sudden disappearance.

“No, I saw her go in the water. Or at least I saw her dive.”

“Maybe she flew off?” Beast Boy’s voice is shaking a little, knowing his suggestions are incredibly far from even being possible.

The boys are silent for a few more moments before they feel some sort of disturbance in the water. It’s minute, barely a blip in the radar, but something is off about it. Jaime immediately dives back under the surface to look around, and the first thing he notices is a slow-moving body of reddish water. It’s chaotically beautiful, seeing the different fluids mixing, and fear rises in his chest as he realizes it must be Cassie.

Jaime swims full speed toward his fallen teammate, and he fights to ignore the Scarab. It’s never chosen the right time to speak up, and this is no exception. It’s mumbling about the logistics of drowning, of what the blood means, of what the worse case is. He doesn’t even want to think about it, yet the alien technology is practically screaming at him to listen.

The closer he gets to the body, the more scared he becomes. It’s not moving. _She’s_ not moving. There seems to be a small fluttering of bubbles coming out of her nose, but he thinks he might be imagining it. That, or she’s trying to breathe with little success.

Beast Boy is right beside him, Jaime realizes. He’s battling with his own inner demon, his subconsciousness, and his worst fears all at the same time, and he didn’t even notice that he wasn’t alone. Of course he wouldn’t be alone. But his focus is in tunnel vision right now, and he can’t even think straight.

Finally they arrive at Cassie’s body. Jaime flips her over and lets out a nonverbal scream into the water around them as he realizes she’s still conscious. Her eyes are open and she looks scared - no, _terrified_. He can’t even imagine what she’s going through, what this must be like, and as he swims up toward the surface, he holds her tight, trying to ignore the fact that other than her eyes, she’s motionless. She’s not even making an attempt to move or to swim, and they all know this can’t be good. It’s not even just fear that could be paralyzing her, it’s that as they’re moving, it’s as if her body just wants to sink, wants to give up, doesn’t want to let her surface.

Jaime can tell Cassie hasn’t given up, that she’s still fighting, by the pleading look in her eyes. He leans down to breathe some air into her mouth, and she nods when he pulls back, signaling that she’s okay now, that he did help. They’re both unsure of what to do, but finally they break the surface of the water and Cassie pulls in a breath deeper than she thinks she ever has. She’s gulping down the essence of life, not letting her lungs give out, ignoring the pain of their protests.

“I’ll radio the Cave, get some help down here,” Jaime says after he catches his breath. He pulls Cassie onto the shore and is on his knees next to her, watching as she struggles to breathe. His hands rest on his thighs and he heaves in air, breathless himself.

“You need to stay here with her,” Garfield says. There’s fear in his eyes, painted across his face, but he knows something needs to be done. He’s in action mode, as is Jaime, and he knows that his friend can do more for Cassie right now than he can.

“Yeah, okay,” Jaime says. He nods to Garfield, barely peeling his eyes away from Cassie, signaling to his friend that he understands, and a sign to say thank you. For helping, and for recognizing the importance of their relationship.The younger boy turns away to talk to the Team while Jaime turns his attention back to the girl in front of him, wiping away a tear as it makes its way out of her eye. It traces its way down her cheek, molding to the shape of her face, and as Jaime cups her cheek, smoothing the skin with his thumb, he finds his own eyes welling up with tears.

* * *

 

 _‘Scan in progress,’_ the Scarab says. Jaime needn’t say anything in response, no argument to be made. For once, the tech seems to be on the same plane of understanding as he is, and he isn’t about to start complaining. It may not fully understand human life and emotions, but it can tell that Jaime is distressed and that this is something that needs to be done.

“You’re gonna be okay,” Jaime says, and he can tell his voice is slipping. He knows he needs to put on a front of being okay, of not being affected by this, of not being too concerned. Keeping Cassie calm right now is the most important thing, anything else can wait.

“Yeah, you’re gonna bounce right back from this,” Miss Martin says, worry dancing across her face.

“You sure about that?” Cassie says. She’s smiling, but it’s a sad sentiment, and her features are trembling in fear, her body’s way of trying to appease her conflicting emotions. She’s scared, more so than she’s ever been, and she’s not sure how to cope with it. She’s a fighter, everyone knows that. She can’t let that facade crumble just because of an injury. “I can’t even feel my body.” Her words are choked out, not wanting to be released into the air. Vocalizing them gave them weight, finality, that she wasn’t ready to face yet. But it needed to be said in order to diagnose her.

“Maybe you’re just numb from what happened,” Jaime suggests. “Maybe the hit to your head just shocked your system.”

There’s silence after that. Nobody offers a suggestion to take its place, and nobody denies the possibility. It’s left in the air, something for the fates to decide. Miss Martin grabs hold of Cassie’s right hand with both of hers, tethering her, but she notices how limp the limb hangs and stifles her own crying.

 _“This is not good,”_ Scarab says. He doesn’t elaborate, which Jaime takes to mean something very bad. Scarab is always succinct, using as few words as possible, but silence isn’t something he’s used before and Jaime can’t say that he appreciates the quiet of the technology.

“Elaborate,” Jaime whispered. He knew Cassie could hear him, but he didn’t want to frighten her, giving her a gentle smile as he listened to the voice inside his head. He trusted the being to be accurate and helpful, but he hoped perhaps he was overestimating its skills and knowledge.

 _“Are you sure you want to know? She’s critically injured and will need immediate help.”_ Scarab had grown to understand and like Jaime to an extent, and he didn’t want to mess up their newfound connection just because he couldn’t be gentler with his delivery.

“Yes.” He chooses his words carefully, measuring his voice to sound as calm and reassuring as possible. Best to not frighten Cassie anymore than she already was, or to incite panic in their teammates. Jaime hears Garfield approaching from behind, and feels the boy’s reassuring hand on his shoulder.

_“Her C4 vertebrae has been dislocated and her spinal cord was crushed in the impact. Recovery is going to be minimal. She’s doubtful to ever be the same again.”_

Jaime’s eyes well up with tears again, and he forces a smile for Cassie, putting on the show once more that things are going to be okay. He can’t imagine what it’s going to be like for her to hear the news, and he doesn’t want to be the one to deliver it. He looks at her body and holds her free hand, squeezing it. She gives no indication of it registering, no squeeze back in return, and she doesn’t even understand why Jaime is suddenly more upset.

“The Team is sending a transport since we can’t carry Cassie without potentially furthering her injury. They’ve instructed us to stay here until they arrive,” Beast Boy says. He feels the need to give some good news, and hopes this might help.

Jaime breathes a sigh of relief as he knows that help is on the way, but he isn’t ready to fully grasp the urgency quite yet. He clears his throat and looks away from Cassie, instead staring up at the sky, hoping to stop the tears from flowing even more.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Her voice is quieter than they’d ever heard it. “It’s bad, I can tell. What did Scarab say after he scanned me? I know that’s what he was doing, you can’t hide your responses to him.”

“Maybe we should wait until we’re at a hospital for you to talk about this with a medical professional instead of just us.” He knows how she would react, but he had to try and protect her from getting even more hurt.

“Jaime, please. I need to know what to expect, what I’m getting into. _Please_. I can’t even move my hands, for Christ’s sake.” As she gets more agitated, she notices her breath getting a little short, limiting her breathing capacity. “And apparently I can’t breathe right,” she mutters to herself. She’s getting more angry the longer she lay there, no other emotions taking its place.

“It’s... it’s bad, Cassie. Your spinal cord has been crushed and you dislocated your C4 vertebrae.” Jaime isn’t looking at Cassie, refusing to meet her eyes, and he shakes his head hearing the words out loud, giving them finality.

“What does that mean?” Cassie asks, her voice rising in fear. _Crushed_ and _dislocated_ don’t sound particularly good, and she knows from experience that anything to do with the vertebrae was definitely Bad.

“It’s hard to be sure right now. Scarab obviously can’t perform any typical scans, so he couldn’t see what the lasting damage may be,” Jaime starts.

 _“Liar,”_ the technology says.

“Let’s not think the worst right now, anyway,” Jaime says. “Let’s just try to stay on the positive end of this.” He says it for his own benefit as much as hers.

When he looks up, he sees Miss Martian staring at him. He scrunches his brows and she shakes her head in response.

 _“Why did you lie?”_ she asks him telepathically. She won’t let her gaze wander from his eyes and she has a look of determination and concern on her face.

 _“I’m just trying to protect her. We don’t know_ for sure _that what Scarab found was accurate.”_

She only shakes her head again.

“What is it?” Wonder Girl asks, looking between her friends. “I can tell you were just communicating with each other. What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing. I just... I don’t think I’m the best person to tell you the news. It would sound better from an actual medical professional,:” Jaime’s voice is quiet, and Cassie can tell he’s on the verge of tears.

“Yeah, okay,” she says, her eyes fluttering shut. “Whatever you say.” Her voice is getting scratchier and it turns into a husky whisper, which alarms the team even more.

“Cassie? Cass!” Jaime moves his hands from hers to gently hold her face, hands cupping her cheeks. “Cassie, you need to stay awake, okay? Please stay with us.”

Miss Martian tightens her grip on Cassie’s hands, well aware that it won’t do much, but she needs an outlet for her fear. Beast Boy finds himself standing in shock over them, frozen in place. Time seems to stand still for a few minutes, the sounds of their surroundings dulled out by the roaring in everyone’s ears.

“I’m just tired,” Cassie finally responds. There’s a collective sigh let out by them all when they hear her speaking, knowing that their hope can be renewed even further. “I’m just so tired.” Tears are streaming out of her eyes again, and Jaime wipes them away with his thumbs.

“I know, but you have to stay strong,” he whispers. It’s quiet enough that nobody else hears besides her, and she gives him a small smile.

“Don’t leave?”

“Couldn’t make me if you tried,” Jaime says, trying to insert a laugh, but it falls short. He tries to think of something else to say to maintain her consciousness, divert her attention from the situation at hand, but he draws a blank, scanning the area. How could they have had such a seamless mission and yet a simple diving accident is what takes one of them out? No, he refuses to let himself think that way. Refuses to believe that she’s not saveable.

Cassie turns to humming to dull out the fear, and Jaime joins in, not sure what tune he should be carrying, but happy nonetheless to be of some sort of support for her. Her eyes are closed, but he can tell she’s still conscious, still fighting. He takes to stroking her hair out of her face, running his thumb along the shape of her eyebrow, feeling the warmth of her features. He’s not even fully aware of his actions, just that he’s _here_.

“Hey, they’re finally here!” Beast Boy yells out, and he runs to the transport to catch them up to speed. As soon as the doors are open, Batgirl and Superboy run out. Cassie opens her eyes to the commotion, fear suddenly spreading through her system as she understands that everyone will see her like this, weak and fragile, and she hates it. She hates herself for getting herself into this situation. But she refuses to let it show, instead weakly smiling when her friends crouch beside her, wanting to make sure they know she appreciates them.

Bruce kneels down next to her and places his hand on her shoulder to show his support. Cassie doesn’t let on that she can’t even feel _that_. Instead she smiles at him as well, and stops herself before she tries to nod, knowing it would likely not go as intended,

“Sorry about them” Batman says. “When they heard you were injured, they refused to stay behind at the Cave, insisting to accompany me on the transport. We’ll get you back to base and you’re going to be just fine.” He tries to give her a reassuring smile, show his own support as a veteran of the team. It meant alot to Cassie that he was the one to come as well - one of the few humans of the Justice League, who would know what it’s like to deal with the suddenness of an unexpected injury. Of the clumsiness and random occurrences that aliens or superpowered beings often overlook. He wouldn’t see this as being an embarrassment or a mistake on her part, just a tragic event that happened to take place.

Bruce stands back up and allows the others to retreat as well, giving the paramedics room to place a stretcher on the ground. One of them places a brace around Cassie’s neck to stabilize her before they move her, not wanting to cause any further damage. They make small talk with her, trying to lessen the worry about the situation, distracting her. It doesn’t particularly work, but she goes along with it. As they pick up her body to place her on the stretcher, carefully and quickly, she chances a glance at Jaime, and feels a tear roll out of her eye when she sees how upset he is. He’s watching her, a glaze over his eyes indicating that he’s either trying to distance himself from what’s happening or he’s listening to Scarab. She’s guessing the latter, and that scares her, not knowing what the technology really found in its scan.

* * *

“Can he come with me?” Cassie asks. It comes out strained and quiet, and one of the paramedics has to lean in to have her repeat it. “Can he come with me?” She’s still staring at Jaime, and the paramedic follows her line of sight.

“If he’d like to,” the man says. “Hey, kid!” All of the members of the Team look up, unsure of who he’s talking to.

“His name is Jaime,” Cassie says.

“She said she’d like for Jaime to accompany us to the hospital. Which one of you is that? Get in or stay behind, it’s your choice, but we’ve got to go.” The paramedic makes a motion with his arm before turning back to his patient.

“I’m Jaime,” he says as he climbs in behind the man. He takes the empty set nearest Cassie’s head as the other paramedic closes the door to the transport, and they’re off, Batman at the pilot’s seat. Jaime had thought they may be going to a hospital, but realized that because Cassie is not quite a normal human, the Cave and the League’s doctors would be the ones to treat her.

“You will be okay, I promise,” Jaime says. “No matter what, you’re Cassie Sandsmark underneath it all. You’re strong and brilliant on your own, nothing can change that.”

“Why would I think something could?” Cassie asks. Her voice is trembling a little from fear. “You’re still not telling me anything.”

“I don’t want to hurt you anymore than I already have,” he says. “I am going to be right here, every step of the way. Even if they have to take you into the operating room alone, I’ll be right outside, and I promise I’ll be the first face you see when you wake back up. I am _not_ giving up on you. Not now, not ever.” He smiles down at her, a sad sentiment, and starts to speak again before the paramedic puts his arm in front of Jaime, gently pushing him back.

“Sorry, but we need to move, we’re about to land and we need to be able to take Miss Cassie here straight into the Cave. She needs your support, but you can provide it from a little distance.” The man’s blunt words initially jar the couple, but Cassie speaks up.

“He’s right, it’s okay, Jaime,” she says. “It’ll only let them get me back to normal quicker if they can work seamlessly.”

“Yeah, I know,” he says. He refuses to look in her eyes at this point, choosing to fiddle with his hands.

Silence takes over for a moment, awkward and loaded with weight about the situation, but it’s quickly abolished. The kids don’t even realize they've lande at first, but then Bruce is opening the doors of the transport, and the paramedics are whisking Cassie away. Jaime’s hand slips from hers as she departs, and she follows him with her eyes as long as she can before her vision is obstructed and she can’t turn her head to look at him.

“Take care of her,” Jaime says quietly to one of the paramedics, and he doesn’t even realize he’s said it out loud until the man puts his hand on his shoulder and nods curtly.

“Don’t worry, kid, we’ve got this. You’re a good friend for sticking with her through this.” He offers a smile, but it looks tired and unconvincing, and Jaime can’t help but feel as though he’s putting on a show for his benefit. As if Jaime doesn’t know what they’re going to find out, what Cassie is going to be stuck with. Instead of responding he just nods, letting the man go, and stands there for a moment.

He feels awkward, with none of the rest of the team back yet. They were returning to the Cave as well, but not in Batman’s speedy jet, and not directly to the hospital wing. Jaime stands there, unmoving, just watching the various pieces in action. It doesn’t feel as though time slows down so much as the world enters a strangely frozen moment - the nurses and doctors still busying about, the sounds of various workings of the Justice League echoing down the hall, the suddenly loud ticking of the clock on the wall behind him.

“You okay, kid?” Batman asks, clapping a hand on Jaime’s shoulder.

“What?” he turns to look at the man, his eyes wide and foggy.

“I asked if you were okay. Which, clearly, you’re not.” He has a concerned expression on his face, and he steers Jaime over to some chairs near the doors to the operating room corridor. “Talk to me, Jaime. Communication is important, especially in a situation like this.”

“You mean a situation in which one of your best friends, someone you’ve had feelings for for a while now, is going to find out something terrible and you couldn’t tell her yourself?” Jaime doesn’t care that he's not being subtle, he’s too tired and numb to think it through.

“What are you talking about? Did Scarab find something?”

“Yeah. And she’s going to find out after they take a look at her, and everyone else will know, and they’ll all know that I didn’t tell her, or anyone else.”

“Keeping that sort of information to yourself is perfectly understandable, and nobody is going to be upset with you for it. You knew she was going to get the help she needed, and you know how good our doctors are here. You’ve done nothing wrong, Jaime.” Bruce gives him a smile before standing to leave. “I’ve got to take care of my jet, but you should get some rest, take your mind off of this. It might be a while before she’s ready to see anyone, and you’ve had a rough day too. Be with your friends. I suspect the Team is going to be going through some changes soon and you’ll need to be with each other.” He doesn’t say any more, instead getting up and giving Jaime an awkward wave before leaving.

* * *

The steady beeping of the machine next to her is what wakes her up. The air is dull, full of the standard smells of a hospital. There doesn’t seem to be anyone around, but she knows where she is. She remembers the fear of not being able to move. As she opens her eyes, she sees a bland ceiling, the lights dimmed down. It must be night, she thinks. She blinks a few times and slowly runs her eyes over her surroundings as best she can, but she’s feeling the terror rising in her veins again. She can’t move.

“Hello?” Cassie asks the room. She’s quiet, voice husky from medication and sleep. “Hello?” She tries again, a little louder this time.

“Cass?” she hears a male voice ask and she has to take a second to place who it is.

“Jaime? Is that you?”

“It’s me,” he says. He stands to be in her line of vision, and she smiles, fully and brightly, seeing him there. “I told you I would be here, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, I guess you did,” Cassie says. “Would you mind -” she tries to lift her hand to gesture to the bed, indicating she wanted to sit up, but the limb lays motionless by her side, and she can’t even see it to visually make sure it’s still there.

“Anything, just say the word,” Jaime jumps in. He realizes what’s just happened and he wants to help her feel more comfortable, in any way that he can.

“Can you help me sit up? I know it’s silly, but I can’t seem to move my body.” Cassie tries to put on a strong voice, convey that she’s fine, but her walls are cracking the longer it goes without knowing exactly what’s wrong.

“Yeah, totally,” Jaime says, and he disappears from her view for a moment before returning, a remote that is attached to the bed in his hand. “Up we go,” he says, and he plasters the most false smile possible on his face.

The bed slowly inclines upward until she’s at about ninety degrees, and she pushes her head back against the pillow.

“I also pressed the Call Nurse button, I hope that’s okay. I figured since you’re awake you could do with someone filling you in on everything.” He’s avoiding her eyes, which she knows isn’t good.

“Do you already know?” Cassie asks. “I know you were apprehensive before I went in, I didn’t know if they mentioned anything to you?” She’s trying to gauge whether or not it’s something that her friend can tell her, rather than a clinical response from a doctor. As kind as the medical professionals are, they’re not a part of the Team. They’re not Jaime.

“No, they wouldn’t tell us anything. They didn’t want us to worry or jump to conclusions. I barely convinced them to let me in to rest with you, I think Wonder Woman had a word with the head doctor in order to get me in.”

“Why was it so important for you?” Cassie asks. She’s sure she knows the answer, but she needs to hear it.

“Because I made a promise. Because... well, you’re Wonder Girl. You’re my friend.”

“Is that all I am to you? Just a teammate?”

Jaime leans against the side of her bed and holds her face in his hands, just as he had when he first pulled her from the water after the injury. He leaned down to press a gentle kiss to her forehead before speaking, pulling back so he could look her in the eye.

“You’re Cassandra Sandsmark, except you hate it when people use your full first name, so we call you Cassie. You’re incredibly badass, strong in every single way, not just physically. You’re my girl, Cass.”

“It’s something really bad, isn’t it?” She asks, not sure how to respond. She averted her eyes from him, not quite wanting to put weight to what he said, not wanting to let him see how much it affected her. He wouldn’t say something like that out of the blue without there being something terrible that he was trying to cover for.

“Whatever happens, whatever they tell you, I’m not leaving. It isn’t even about the promise anymore, Cassie, it’s about you. I will not abandon you, and neither will the rest of the Team. We are all here for you, like it or not.”

Just as he finishes speaking, the doctor, flanked by two nurses and Wonder Woman, enters the room.

“Hello, Mister Reyes, I see you’re still here.” The man doesn’t give off the impression of liking Jaime very much, but he’s more bracing himself for what he has to say and how it’s going to go over. He’s already discussed it with the Justice League, but it’s finally come time for Cassie to find out.

“Yeah, I told you I wasn’t going anywhere. Cassie is my... friend. And she needs me, so I’m not going anywhere.”

“I’m afraid you’re going to have to leave now, actually. This is a private conversation that needs to take place between Cassandra and her caretakers. Not one of her friends.”

Jaime stares at the doctor, fighting the Scarab that’s urging him to attack, to help protect Cassie from someone with such little tact. To not give into his exhaustion and anger. Not even Diana speaks up, knowing the importance of letting the teenagers figure things out for themselves. She’s also tired herself, worried about Cassie and the reaction she’s going to have to such a drastic announcement. Jaime stands standing on the edge of doing something he would very much regret when Cassie speaks up, much to the surprise of everyone else.

“I want him here.”

The words are simple, but powerful. Cassie is making a statement, a point, that she wants Jaime there. That he’s just as important to her as the doctors who are saving her and her role model. “Jaime is more than just my friend, and I want him here. This is me, we’re talking about, right? My body and injury? So I should get to decide who is here, no matter how big of a deal it is.”

The doctor and Jaime stare off for another few seconds until Jaime smirks a little, satisfying the Scarab a bit and shirking the doctor.

“Very well,” the man says. Jaime moves to stand beside Cassie’s head, his right hand brushing her bangs off her forehead while his left reaches down to hold her hand. He knows she can’t feel it, but she can at least see it and understand the significance.

“This is going to be hard, Miss Sandsmark,” the doctor says. “And I want you to keep an open mind about what it means, and about your future.”

“Just get out with it, please. I need to know.”

“Alright, if bluntless is what you want. I’m sorry to say that you’ve been diagnosed as quadriplegic, from the shoulders down. The injury to your spinal cord and vertebrae was too severe to regain functionality of most of your body.”

* * *

“What?” Cassie doesn’t have the care to not be so straightforward. She knows what she heard, and she doesn’t want to believe it. So she tries again. “What?”

“I’m so sorry,” Diana says, stepping in. She puts a hand on the doctors shoulder and nods to him, signaling that he should give Cassie some space. He nods in return and exits, leaving the room with just two broken teenagers and a member of the Justice League. “I know this is not good news, and I also know you’re likely to be in shock for a while, maybe even denial. This is to be expected, Cassandra, and you must know that all of us will continue to support you.”

“I’m _broken_ , didn’t you hear that?” Cassie asks, not wanting to give into this. “And what’s broken must be able to be fixed, right?” She finds Diana’s eyes, and stares into them, begging for an answer that will give her what she wants.

“There is the possibility that you could regain _some_ functionality of your limbs, through rigorous physical  therapy. But -” she stops when Cassie interrupts.

“I won’t accept a _but_ , I am not going to be like this forever. You can send the doctor back in, I’ll start that as soon as possible.”

“Cass, maybe you should let yourself rest a little. You did just get injured, after all.” Jaime attempts to calm her down a bit, help her understand reason.

“The way I look at it, the sooner the better. That way the injury doesn’t have any time to settle in, permanently do damage.” Cassie is looking ahead, visualizing herself walking again, and not giving in to the voice in the back of her head that’s warning that this isn’t going to go well.

“You can’t push yourself too hard too fast. That might injure you further, more than just the fall did. Why don’t you take some time to think about it, while I talk with the doctor?” Diana smiles at Cassie and gently wipes a tear running down the girl’s cheek with the knuckle of her finger. “You’re strong, made of a fierce spirit. You’ll get through this.”

As Diana leaves, Jaime pulls the chair beside Cassie’s bed closer and sits, feeling like he can relax a little, not needing to protect her from the news.

“What do you think?” Cassie asks quietly. Whether it’s simply because they’re alone again, or because she feels as though she can be honest with him, Jaime isn’t sure.

“I think Diana was right, you’re powerful and strong, and no matter what happens, you can get through this. I don’t know if the physical therapy will help, but if anyone can do it, it’s you.”

“You really believe that?” Cassie isn’t quite sure if she herself believes it, and she needs someone to hold onto, someone who has absolute faith in her.

“Absolutely. And that’s no lie, Cass. I’ve seen you do so many amazing things that I don’t believe for a second that you can’t do this. You survived that accident, something that would probably kill most other people, and you’re here. That’s what matters most.”

* * *

A few weeks go by that contain the most rigorous frustration that Cassie thinks she’s ever experiences. The doctors finally agreed to let her participate in physical therapy, but it was not going well. At all. Even though they had warned her about this possibility, she had refused to believe it, not listening to her own body, trying to overcome an impossible obstacle.

If it weren’t for her mother feeding her and helping her with going to the bathroom, Cassie wonders if she would just waste away in the temporary wheelchair. She can’t do anything to help herself, other than breathe, and if she can’t help herself, how can she help others? All she’s ever known is saving other people, coming to the rescue. She used to be able to _fly_. And now she can’t even scratch an itch on her nose without help.

As she looks down at her hands, folded carefully on her lap by the physical therapist after taking the stress ball away, she sees a few tears hit her fingers. Funny, she didn’t even realize she was crying, until it was all she could do. She lets her head hang, uncaring of the other patients and nurses in the clinic, they’ve all heard her yelling and cursing enough already that seeing her cry isn’t exactly be a surprise.

“Sweetie, are you okay?” The nurse who had left her alone came to stand in front of Cassie, doing the crouched-but-standing thing that all medical professionals seemed to be experts at. Slightly bent knees, hands on thighs, leaning over to be at eye level while still condescending.

“Right as rain,” Cassie mutters. Whether the nurse heard her or not, she stood back up and took her healm at the handles of the wheelchair, spinning her around.

“You’ve got a visitor. He wanted to be here for the big day, and nobody raised any objections. Oh! I haven’t seen that smile in a long time, it’s so pleasant to have it return,” the nurse says as she looks back down at Cassie. “I’ll leave you two alone.”

“Jaime, you’re here!” Cassie exclaims. She knows her face is still red and puffy from the crying, and she probably has tear streaks on her cheeks, but she can’t find herself caring.

“I’ll always be here for my girl,” he says, smiling. “Your mom told me about today, and I didn’t want to miss it. I wanted to be here for you, even though I haven’t really been here like I should’ve been before. You wanted your space, and I happily gave it to you. Well, not happily. But I gave you the distance you asked for. Your mom said you haven't been doing so well at home, though, and I needed to be here. I needed to apologize for not supporting you more. I just didn’t want to push you away.”

“Well it’s considerably easy,” Cassie says. “You can do it from in front of me, or behind. Seamless user control.” When Jaime doesn’t respond, she laughs, rough and harsh. “I’m in a wheelchair. With wheels on it. There’s not much else I can do but be pushed.”

“Right. Sorry, I didn’t think that was necessary funny. But you know what I meant, even if you don’t want to say you did.” Jaime is coming off more aggressive than he’d intended when he decided to come in today, but he can’t bring himself to be more gentle with Cassie. She’s gone since the week she was released fairly in the dark, not letting any of the members of the Team visit her.

“Am I supposed to apologize?” Cassie asks. Suddenly she’s unable to meet Jaime’s eyes, and she feels her smile fading.

“No, why would I want that? You have nothing to apologize for, Cass, we all understand why you’re feeling the way you are. But that doesn’t mean you can just push us out of your life without us fighting back a little. We’re all a little worried about you, and we know you need us, even if you won’t admit it to yourself.”

“Even if I won’t admit it to myself? Seriously? I need you all more than anything. But I need to be myself again, not just the ousted Team member that you keep around just because you feel guilty or whatever.”

“None of us feel guilty, Cassie, what happened wasn’t anybody's fault. Even Garfield understands that he isn’t to blame for the idea to go in the lake. If anyone should be blaming themselves, it’s me. I’m the one who encouraged you to jump in.”

“This is not your fault, Jaime. I -” she starts to argue.

“If it's not my fault then it’s not yours either. And just as no one thing is at fault for what happened, no one expects you to go through this alone. And nobody is expecting _anything_ from you, except yourself.”

“They say I’m never going to be able to walk again. Never going to be able to even lift my arms.” She’s blunt now, tears back in her eyes.

“That might change the way you function, of course. But that doesn’t change who you are on the inside.”

“You’re really coming at me with that crap?” Cassie asks. She doesn’t have the energy for further rebuttal, and Jaime doesn’t have the heart to argue right now.

“I didn’t come to fight,” he says quietly.

“Then why are you here?”

“I told you - to support you. They told me you’re getting your new chair, personalized to you, today. I wanted to be here for you.”

Cassie doesn’t respond for a moment, not sure what to say. Jaime keeps coming back, no matter how many times she tried to get him to realize that she was useless now, that she didn’t matter anymore. He used to tease her flying positions, compliment her fighting strength. She’d knocked out one of the guys on their last mission in just one hit. None of that would ever happen again, and Cassie felt guilty that Jaime was expecting that.

“Yeah, that’s exciting,” she says. It wasn’t intended to come out sarcastic, but that’s how he reads it. He stays silent for a while more, and she notices him looking to the side a lot, and realizes he’s probably listening to Scarab. The technology is probably telling Jaime to cut his losses, stop caring about Cassie, let her wither away. As if they could read her mind, Jaime’s eyes flickered to hers.

“What if you saw the chair as a gateway to regaining some power?” He has an excitement in his eyes, a fire that Cassie hadn’t seen since the accident.

“What do you mean?” she’s hesitant to get her happiness or hope up again.

“Well, you’ve been relying on other people to push you around, take care of things for you, yeah?”

“Like I need reminding?”

“Bear with me. The wheelchair they’re giving you has breath control - you’ll be able to move on your own, and even that small feeling will give you a lot of power and autonomy back. At least, that’s how Scarab sees it.”

“Wait, Scarab is being positive for once?” Cassie laughs, genuinely, for the first time in a long time. “I didn’t even know that was possible.”

“Yeah, well, we’ve reached a sort of understanding, if you’d like to call it that,” Jaime says. He looks happy as well, though still reserved.

“What -” Cassie starts, but she sees the nurse returning with the chair in question, and Cassie’s mind goes blank as she looks at the apparatus. “Is that is?” She asks.

“It is,” the nurse says, her voice falsely cheerful. She knows how difficult this is likely to be for Cassie, given how difficult the regular physical therapy has been.

* * *

“Hey, Barbara?” Cassie asks. The phone line is quiet for a moment, and she almost hangs up before she gets a response.

“Cassie? Is that you?” Barbara knows the answer, but she’s a little surprised to get a call from her friend. Well, more like a lot surprised.

“Yeah,” she laughs, feeling more awkward than before. “I was just wondering if we could get together sometime soon. I know I’ve been kind of distant lately, and I understand if you’d rather not.”

“Are you going to be home this afternoon?” Barbara asks. She doesn’t want to make Cassie feel worse, so she just blazes past that part of the statement

“Yeah, anytime is fine for you to stop by, if you’d like,” Cassie says.

“Sounds great, Cassie. I’ll be there around 3:00? I need to get to this test, but I can’t wait to see you later! I’m glad you reached out.”

After the short conversation ends, Cassie feels like she can finally let out the breath she didn’t realize she was holding in. She hadn’t talked to Barbara since the first day at the hospital, same with the others from the Team and the Justice League. Wonder Woman and Jaime were the two that refused to let her completely withdraw, and she realized how much she had missed her friends.

Jaime had been right in saying that the sip-and-puff wheelchair would help her. She really did feel like she was back in control of her own life, and that was something she never thought she would experience again. As soon as she was declared quadriplegic, Cassie felt like she was destined to just wither away. She had gone her whole life with awesome powers and abilities, being the daughter of a god and a mortal, and to have that snatched away so suddenly was not something she ever imagined, especially as a teenager. But the more she got used to the wheelchair and her new lifestyle, she decided to be proud that she was even alive still. That she survived such a terrible accident was a blessing by fate, or something. She took a deep breath and pressed her lips to the tube of her chair, moving it down the hall to her mother’s room.

“Cassie? Is that you?” She turns to look at her daughter and smiles confusedly when she sees the look on Cassie’s face.

“I invited Barbara over, if that’s okay,” she says. She knows what to expect, but she wanted to maintain this somewhat formal tone of conversation, rather than have it devolve into the old patterns of speech they had. They once treated each other like best friends more than mother and daughter, but that all changed with the accident, and Cassie wasn’t ready to go back to how it was, knowing there were other parts of her life she couldn’t return to.

“Of course, honey, that’s more than okay. I’m so glad you’re finally reaching out,” her mother says. She stood and brushed off her pants, straightening herself up with a new resolve. “Would you like for me to make you cookies or something? I’d love to have something to treat Barbara to.”

“No, that’s alright, I don’t want to have to be fed while she’s here,” Cassie says quietly.

“Cassie, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t even thinking. It’s just that I've gotten used to seeing you in this chair.” Her voice is rising as she tries to avoid the inevitable crying that’s about to come.

“Mom, it’s okay, I promise! I have too, and I don’t want either of us to think they have to choose their words carefully just to protect the other’s feelings. We’ve never hidden things from one another, not even my parentage. Really, mom, I’m good,” Cassie says. She smiles, honestly, and her mom wipes away a few tears and leans over her to kiss her daughter’s forehead.

“You are so strong, don’t you ever forget it,” she says, smiling.

”I don’t think I could if I wanted to,” Cassie says. She backs out of the room again to return to the TV. She’d been watching the news, keeping up with the Justice League’s activities as subtley as she could. Even if she couldn’t be a part of their missions anymore. It had to do with a certain pride, she thinks, that she can’t give up on her friends, colleagues, and mentors. Even if she wasn’t one of them anymore, they were just as important as ever, and she feels like maybe she’s helping a little bit by supporting from the silent sidelines.

A few hours go by with Cassie watching the news and reading, filling the time with nothing substantial, too nervous for Barbara coming over. She’s more nervous about how they will approach and deal with the wheelchair issue than anything else. She knows that Barbara won’t be rude about it or anything, but it will probably be a bit of a shock to see Cassie how she is now. As she started wondering if she had made a mistake in asking her over, she hears the doorbell ring and her neck twitches in surprise, startled by the realization of how quickly time had flown by.

“It’s open,” Cassie calls out. She breathes into her tube to steer herself to the door, but she wouldn’t be able to open it on her own anyway, and it was a friend coming over, so she had no qualms about her walking in on her own. She got to the entryway just as Barbara was closing the door, and she felt a smile spread across her face.

“Hey there,” she says. She forgot how good it felt to have a friend in the same space as her. Jaime had been here, of course, but he’s... different.

“Hey yourself,” Barbara says. “I’m going to be blunt and just get it out there, because we both know it’s something we’re dreading but that feels inevitable. So. Yes, it’s a shock to see you in the wheelchair. Yes, it’s also good to see you in general. No, my feelings aren’t hurt that you pulled away from us. And yes, we all still love you.” She has a smile on her face, warm and happy, and Cassie is happy to know that their friendship is still strong.

“All good to know, I guess,” Cassie says, not completely sure what else to say in response.

“So what prompted you to call me?” Barbara asks. She sits at the table next to Cassie, giving her plenty of space to pull up, both into the conversation and into the shared space. “Not that I’m complaining, at all. I was just curious, it felt a little random.”

“Well, as you can probably imagine, sitting at home and watching tv a lot of the time isn’t exactly exciting, y’know? I thought maybe I should get back into schoolwork, but I am way behind, and you're one of the smartest people I know. So I was thinking maybe you could tutor me?” Cassie doesn't want to look at Barbara to see her reaction, not interested in seeing the apology she expects on the face. She's so sure that Barbara is plenty busy with school herself and the work for the Justice League that she won’t have time to help, but Cassie is just as surprised as ever.

“I would love to tutor you!”

There’s an awkward silence for a few moments, neither girl sure where to pull the conversation from there, until Barbara clears her throat.

“Actually, I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately, and how you must be feeling. Obviously I can’t actually imagine what it’s like for you to lose the ability to move most of your body. It must be terrifying and frustrating and your own kind of hell. I understand, though, and I understand why you withdraw from us all. But I think I can go so far as to guess that you’re also very lonely in addition to bored. Am I right?”

“As usual,” Cassie says, not sure where this is going.

“Am I also right in guessing that you feel left out, like you wish you could be doing something useful or helpful for the team? I heard you watching the news, and I thought maybe that meant you’ve been keeping up with us through whatever the media reports?”

“Also correct,” Cassie says. “Is there a point to this, or are you just psychoanalyzing me?” She laughs a little, but it’s stilted and awkward.

“I want you to become mission control.”

The silence overwhelms them again as Cassie takes in the words, and Barbara fidgets with her hands, suddenly worried it was a bad suggestion to make. Cassie’s mom comes out to check on them after a little while, not sure if something had happened, but then she sees Cassie’s face light up.

“Do you really think that’s possible?” She asks. “I mean, I can only breathe into a tube and move my head and neck a little bit, that’s all I’m really capable of anymore.” Her voice is quiet again, but her eyes hold a fire that they hadn’t in a long while. She’s optimistic and hopeful, things she hadn’t thought she could feel anymore.

“I do,” Barbara says, smiling. “I’ve been working on the modifications already, nobody knows but I wanted to have it all ready for when you were comfortable enough to return.  I Never doubted that you’d come back to us.”

“I don’t even know what to say,” Cassie starts. “Thank you, for believing in me.”

“There’s no need to thank me, Cassie,” Barbara says. She leans over to place her hand over Cassie’s, showing her support. “We’ve all been rooting for you, even if it’s been from a distance.”

Cassie’s face pales at these words, guilt creeping up on her for isolating herself.

“I didn’t mean -” Barbara wants to say something to reassure her, but Cassie shakes her head.

“No, you’re right, I’ve been wallowing in my own self pity and not embracing the love and support of my friends. I’m the one who should be sorry.”

The sit there, awkwardly, as neither quite knows what to say in response. The conversation has dwindled away and they’re not sure how to get back on track. Barbara thumbs at one of the books she brought over while Cassie stares into space. Eventually they get back into a pattern of speech, albeit awkward and stilted. Barbara helps Cassie figure out what all she’s missed and what she’ll need to catch up on for the upcoming school year. A few hours go by of them just chatting, when Cassie interjects.

“Do you think we could keep this a secret? At least for now.”

“Yeah, if you’d like. This is your progression into becoming who you are now, Cassie, and we can take this as quickly or slowly as you’d like.”

“Thanks,” she says, smiling.

* * *

“Are you ready?” Cassie asks. She’s excited, nerves only on the positive end of things, and she can’t wait to show Jaime what she can do now.

“I’m always ready for you,” he says. They’re talking over the communication devices, though he’s not in any danger or even on a mission. He isn’t sure what this is about, but she urged him to trust her, and he had complete faith that whatever it would be was going to be amazing.

“Oh hush,” Cassie says. She’s glad that he isn’t here to see her blushing. They had been growing closer, but neither had made the first move yet. Maybe today would change that.

“Seriously, though, I am ready whenever you are.”

“Alright, Blue,” Cassie says, and then he can hear her muttering. He guesses she's talking to another teammate or something, before she comes back on his comm. “Head up the roof, taking care to avoid the drones.”

“You really pulled out all the stops didn’t you?” Jaime asks as he extends the wings on his suit and rolls his neck, ready for this challenge. As soon as he’s airborne, a few rubber bullets shoot out at him, and he finds himself needing to dodge them. He can see the tops of the drones, waiting just out of view, and bobs and weaves around the hail of bullets. Cassie makes a remark that he doesn’t quite hear, too preoccupied with the task at hand and with tuning out Scarab. The technology had been hinting that there was more to this exercise, and Jaime wasn’t sure if he should listen to the alien or not.

 _“You do realize what day it is?”_ Scarab asks. Jaime huffs out a breath, partly in exasperation, but also in exhaustion.

“Yes, of course I do, now would you give it a rest?”

“ _I don’t rest,_ ” Scarab says before shutting up.

Jaime shakes his head and raises his eyes as he stands, waiting for the next obstacle to hit, before he suddenly sees balloons floating up from a hatch that just opened. He looks around himself, looking at the view of the city in the distance, and turns back to face the colorful display.

“Is this some sort of test where something jumps out from behind the peaceful distraction?” Jaime asks, though whether he’s talking to Scarab or Cassie he’s not sure. When neither responds, he continues forward, curious. The balloons are drifting away as he bats at them, bouncing against his fists, and he rolls his eyes at the predictability at what’s about to happen. Or at what he _thinks_ is going to happen.

Once Jaime is surrounded by the balloons on all sides, confetti shoots up around him, in varying shades of pink. He’s about to make a remark about how he needn’t be congratulated for such a simple task of scaling the building, but then a computer monitor slides up out of an opening in the roof, and on it is Cassie’s smiling face. She has a bit of blush to her cheeks, and she can’t seem to _stop_ smiling. This was an expression Jaime hadn’t seen on her in ages.

“Hi there,” he says, a grin slowly spreading across his face. “What’s going on?”

“I’ve got a question I need to ask you,” Cassie said.

“And this wasn’t something you could ask me while we’re actually in the same room together?”

“I don’t think I could do this to your face, with you standing right in front of me. Plus this let me test out the computer system again,” Cassie says. “As you know, the accident was six months ago today.” She pauses, and looks into Jaime’s eyes. They're both a little awkward, Jaime fiddling with his hands while Cassie bites her lip. “Six months ago today was Valentine’s Day.” The words are heavy, full of uncertainty and possibility.

“This is true,” Jaime says awkwardly.

“And Valentine’s Day is kind of a big day when it comes to romance,” Cassie continues.

“This is also true,” Jaime says, and he tries not to laugh at the slight ridiculousness of the situation they’re dealing with.

“I have a question to ask you, that I kept waiting for you to answer. Jaime Reyes, you refused to give up on me. You refused to leave me on my own, refused to let me wither away into nothingness like I thought I would. So would you do me the honor of being mine?” As soon as the words are out of her mouth, Cassie leans her head back as though she’s exhausted, her mind reeling at the possible answers to this question.

“Cassie, I am already yours. You’re not just Cassandra Sandsmark. You’re _my_ Wonder Girl.” When she hears those words, Cassie breaks down, bursting into a smile again and closing her eyes as happy tears fall out of her eyes, catching on her eyelashes from the way her head is bowed.

 _“Took the two of you long enough,”_ Scarab says.


End file.
